A Blue Bloods spinoff is in the works, but it won’t be what most fans hoped for.
No offshoot of Blue Bloods could come close. Most of what’s on our wish list is basically another season of the original, and CBS already nixed that idea.
Still, there is some cause for hope with Boston Blue, the new spinoff coming next year, even if there are also some serious continuity issues.
Donnie Wahlberg’s Participation Is Very Good News
Danny was never my favorite character. That will forever and always be Jamie. That said, I’m thrilled that Donnie Wahlberg has signed on to the new Blue Bloods spinoff.
Wahlberg is second only to Tom Selleck in his passion for the original show. He fought hard for it to remain on the air and expressed regret that he couldn’t do that for the fans.
Most importantly, as far as Boston Blue is concerned, Wahlberg said he would only sign on to a spinoff if it retained the family values vital to the original.
So, if he’s all in, the series will likely have the same core values.
Sadly, though, that family will not, for the most part, be the Reagans.
According to the new series’ description, Danny moves to Boston and is partnered with a detective from a prominent cop family.
While we won’t get the Reagans, we will probably get a similar family — and Danny will fit right in.
Still, that’s incredibly disappointing.
Boston Blue’s Premise Seems to Contradict The Blue Bloods Series Finale
Blue Bloods Season 14 Episode 18 wrapped things up beautifully, but it also offered some new stories that could have been addressed in a reunion movie — until now.
Jamie and Eddie are having their first baby, supposedly due June 13 of this year.
That can still be part of Boston Blue, of course. Danny could regularly see the baby over video chats or visit New York occasionally.
However, Danny’s final storyline is harder to explain away now that he’s moved to a new city, presumably alone.
During the Blue Bloods series finale, Danny finally admitted that he was lonely and needed someone to come home to. After that, he asked Baez out for pizza.
While that short scene wasn’t a guarantee that he and Baez would end up together long-term, it still seems to clash with the idea of Danny moving to Boston.
He’s likely leaving for a fresh start, too. Does this mean he and Baez broke up?
I really hope not.
That would suck for Danny/Baez shippers like me, mainly because the description of his new female partner coming from a family like his makes me think the writers will push them toward romance eventually.
Danny’s also not generally the type to run away, so leaving town to get away from bad memories isn’t his style.
If that’s his excuse for going to Boston, it’ll twist his character out of shape, which is not a good way for the new Blue Bloods spinoff to begin.
On the other hand, Danny seemed burned out during the last few episodes of Blue Bloods, so much so that I guessed (wrongly, obviously) that the series would end with him taking early retirement.
By the end, his lack of enthusiasm wasn’t really explained, although his hidden loneliness could have been the reason.
So maybe he needs a fresh start. However, for the new Blue Bloods spinoff to work properly, it must be explained properly.
Danny Is The Most Likely Of Frank’s Children To Move To Another City
Danny had several stories on Blue Bloods in which he worked with some random character instead of Baez.
Some of these episodes, like the ones with Lyle Lovett, took place in other states where Danny shouldn’t have had jurisdiction. Thus, it’s not a big stretch to believe he would move to Boston or that he’d fit in easily.
It also makes more sense for Danny to move than Jamie and Eddie, although I would have loved a Jamie and Eddie spinoff where the couple moved to Long Island to raise their new baby in a more peaceful environment.
Since they have a kid on the way, they aren’t going too far, and certainly not out of state.
I’d feel better about Boston Blue if it had originally been intended to be Danny’s story.
It wasn’t. The showrunners submitted a pitch for a show where an officer who transfers to Boston must deal with a partner whose family includes all cops.
Somewhere along the way, someone decided that the premise would work well if Danny were the officer in question, and the first Blue Bloods spinoff was born.
It’s easy to understand why that decision was made. This new series had a built-in cop family that wasn’t the Reagans.
CBS likely figured this was a good trade-off. Although there probably won’t be any Reagan family dinners, there might be new family traditions that the audience will enjoy.
I’m not sure that will work as well as the showrunners expect.
Boston Blue Runs the Risk of Being Too Different From Blue Bloods
Boston Blue is headed by a creative team different from Blue Bloods, so it remains to be seen if they understand what made Blue Bloods so special.
It’s not as simple as adding a dinner scene or giving Danny’s partner a family.
The Reagans’ family values shone through every episode. The series wasn’t a police procedural as much as it was a series about a family of Irish-Catholic cops.
The Reagans’ religious faith and belief that family should always come first were important aspects of the show that distinguished it greatly from other procedurals.
The series’ secondary goal was to show the NYPD in a positive but fair light.
Blue Bloods was special to many former and current NYPD officers because it was as realistic as possible, and they were not afraid to support cops even when public sentiment had turned against them.
Boston Blue isn’t even set in New York. It will probably be filmed on a soundstage in Los Angeles, which is cheaper than filming on location.
Can it do for the Boston PD what the original did for the NYPD? Can it share its more conservative values while allowing people to make up their own minds about issues of the day?
With new writers, a new location, and a new central family, it’s hard to predict whether Boston Blue will resemble Blue Bloods other than Danny’s character appearing in both.
Still, I’m willing to give the new series a chance.
A Blue Bloods spinoff is better than nothing, and maybe, if we’re lucky, the Reagan family will make cameos from time to time.
Spinoffs don’t have to be exactly like the original to work. I didn’t think I’d like Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage, but it’s become one of my favorite shows.
Over to you, Blue Bloods fanatics. Are you looking forward to Boston Blue? Do you plan to watch the new Blue Bloods spinoff?
Sound off in the comments.
All 14 seasons of Blue Bloods are currently available to stream on Paramount+.
Watch Blue Bloods Online
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The post Blue Bloods Isn’t Returning, But Boston Blue Has Serious Potential (and Some Concerns) appeared first on TV Fanatic.